Redartz: Good day, everyone. Most of us who share a presence (whether actively participating or following along) here have numerous things in common. One factor which we probably all are experiencing is a transition from 'middle age' to...well.....let's just say 'veteran' status. If we're not undergoing it now, we will be before too many years pass. I certainly am, breaking the '60' barrier this year. It got me thinking about other transitions we make in our lives, particularly from childhood to adolescence. For instance, can you recall when you were little, and your parents made the choices about what movies you saw, or what tv shows the family viewed each night? When I was a kid, that was just 'the way it was'. It never really occurred to me to think otherwise, until I got a bit older. It was about the age of 8 when the first crack appeared in my parental wall: my folks allowed me to pick out my own comics (superhero books, that is; they had no problem with me reading Casper).
But it was a couple more years before my siblings and I were able to assert any decision-making about the tv. By the time I was 10 we could, at least, take over the set for Friday night ( Brady Bunch, Partridge Family and the ABC lineup). At this point I was becoming aware that my entertainment choices weren't always matching up with everyone elses'.
The final brick in the wall broke away when I was 15; the first time I was allowed to pick a movie to watch without supervision. We were at a motel on vacation, and we had two rooms. My folks gave the ok, and I watched my first 'R' film (actually, practically the first movie I'd seen that wasn't a Disney film): "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". Boy, that was a departure from "The Apple Dumpling Gang"!
So that made my departure from childhood complete. I never really recognized the transition, but was aware of a changing of interests (including an increasing attraction to the girls around school; as of 7th. grade). Therefore my personal 'transition' probably ran from age ten to twelve. Guess I was pretty much on schedule.
How about you? Were you conscious of a shift away from your childhood pursuits? Do you recall when you were allowed the occasional entertainment choice? And was I the only one still watching Disney flicks at 14? Go ahead and 'chew the fat'...
Redartz: 2020 has been a remarkable year, in many ways. Remarkable, challenging, memorable, inconvenient, historic, odd, you name it. We all will remember this year for many reasons, both societal and personal.
One personal aspect of this strange year for me: it's the first year since 2006 in which I'll not be attending a comic book convention. Considering all that's going on, that's not really a big deal; obviously. Nonetheless, missing out on all the great aspects of a convention is a disappointment. There have been online 'virtual conventions', a couple of which I've checked out. They have been interesting, but it certainly isn't the same as attending a show in person.
Therefore, for me and for any of you who also miss the Con experience this year, we are having our own 'BiTBA Con' today. How, you may ask, is this to work? Read on, friends, and see.
There are four basic activities I love about attending a comic convention. Meeting creators, seeing displays of artwork, getting to know other comics fans, and (of course) hitting the dealer's room. Incidentally, I also like seeing the cosplayers, but that's out of my capabilities for now.
Anyway, we will sort of simulate these four activities as our topic this week. To wit:
1. Meeting Creators- leads to our question . At our 'virtual convention', we can offer the chance to meet any of our favorite Silver/Bronze age comics pros. So, given the chance, what one creator (alive or not is immaterial) will you choose to meet, and what will you ask them about?
2. Seeing Artwork- I hereby present a limited, but (I hope) enjoyable selection of original art pages for your perusal.
3. Getting to know other comics fans- okay, here we will share a little about ourselves, for the benefit of those who may not know or are newer to our group. Just pretend we're standing in line at the snack bar and decide to chat a bit.
4. Hitting the Dealer's Room- this means one more question for you. As times are tough financially for many this year, our funds are limited. However, each of us has somehow found 100 dollars (or the UK equivalent in Pounds) to spend as we like. What will you select?
To get the show going, I'll start off...
1. My creator: Will Eisner. I've admired his work since first seeing it in those great Warren magazines in the 70's. Later I learned just how huge a shadow he casts in the history of the comics medium. I would ask him what he thinks of comics today as published, digitally vs. print, and what he thinks is a realistic future for the medium.
3. A bit about myself: I've been reading comics for 53 years now, amazingly. I just love the medium and all it's genres; humor, horror, heroes, the whole works. And there are always new (and undiscovered old) comics to be found and appreciated. Spidey is my top favorite character, but I also love Archie, Sugar and Spike, the Spirit, Batman and the Avengers. Oh, and Neil the Horse. And my wife is great, totally understanding and supportive of my hobby. She always helps search at those flea markets we frequent...
4. With my 100 dollars, I'll try to pick up a sketch from one of the artists. They all are here, so I'll pick a Spidey sketch from John Romita. And expect to pay about 50 dollars for it. With my remaining fifty, I'll try to hunt down a couple issues missing from my "Sugar and Spike" run, and finish off with a few Marvel and DC horror anthologies (my latest craze, "Tower of Shadows", "House of Mystery", and so on).
Okay, that about covers my 'day at the convention'. I'll stand here and eat my overpriced hot dog while you all share your convention experience!
Redartz: Greetings once again! We're back at it again with a fun poser for you to consider, regarding your favorite comic covers. But first, a quick update for you.
Several of you have inquired about the circumstances of my power outage and consequent general absence from this space last week. Well, the circuit breaker box on the side of our house literally melted; it's truly miraculous we had no fire. Obviously the power had to be cut, and between awaiting repairs, local safety inspectors and utility officials, we were stuck in the 'dark ages' for about 8 days. Not an experience I'd recommend for anyone, but we made it through. Fortunately the temperatures were mild for the most part. No longer will I take air conditioning and lights for granted!
Anyway, on to our topic. The premise: you have been selected to choose the artwork for a big exhibition. More specifically, this show will showcase comic cover artists throughout the medium's history. And with such a wide possibility of artists to choose from, space allows only 1 cover per artist. So, your task is to pick the artists, and choose a great representative cover for each artist,one that highlights their talent and impact. As I'm a framer by trade, I'll see that your picks are safely framed, of course!
Our gallery has several wings, so we can have a section for Golden age, Silver age, Bronze and Modern if you so choose. And while you begin your careful consideration, I'll submit a few nominations to get the show started. Feel free to improve upon my picks as you see fit. As the week goes on, I'll try to post some more nominees based upon your comments; the better to fill our gallery. See you at the opening!
My preliminary nominations:
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| Jack Kirby |
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| Neal Adams |
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| Dave Cockrum |
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| John Byrne |
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| John Romita, Sr |
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| Barry Smith |
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| Walter Simonson |
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| George Perez |
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| Carmine Infantino |
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| Joe Kubert |
More to Come...
A bit late, but here are some of the nominated covers, presented for the appreciation and illumination of one and all. Thanks everyone for each response! And as suggested by our friend HB, you can look forward to seeing 'Hall of Fame Cover' pop up periodically on a single artist basis. Salutations!
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| Dave Cockrum |
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| Jim Aparo |
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| Steve Ditko |
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| Rich Buckler |
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| Nick Cardy |
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| Mike Ploog |
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| Herb Trimpe |
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| John Byrne |
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| John Buscema |
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| Frank Frazetta |
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| Mike Kaluta |
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| Alan Davis |
Redartz: Hello again gang. Again this week I must humbly ask your input, as the Redartz household remains without electric service and my net access is limited. I'll relate the tale at another time. For now, thanks for your indulgence.
Redartz: Greetings gang! This week sees some unanticipated distractions (like, our power is out for days), for your humble host, so BitBA assembled is counting on one of you to step up with a great topic for the week! Our group appreciates it, I appreciate it, and (I assume) the Leader appreciates it...
Redartz: It's the height of summertime, and for any true Bronze ager, that means Annuals! Or, if you prefer, King-Size Specials, or Summer Specials. Featuring...
Pin-Ups!
Special Features!
Extra length Stories!
The summer just wasn't complete without a goodly array of giant size comics for whiling away those hazy afternoons. And while Marvel had the monopoly on the Annuals during our Bronze age, DC did put some out on the spinners (and actually had some all-reprint annuals in the Silver Age). And perennial teen Archie sported an Annual edition each year, albeit one that changed format to a digest after 1975.
Anyway, they always were lots of fun, with generally special stories and often extra features. Guest stars were frequent. Different artists were used at times, as were unusual writers (Steve Gerber on the Iron Man Annual below was one of my favorite examples of this). Obviously the Summer Specials had a lot of appeal. Hence their longevity (some still have appeared in recent years; with varying degrees of success, imho).
No doubt you all have your personal faves, and I'm sure you'll share them with us shortly. A couple that top my list:
Spider-Man Annual 15 (fooled you, bet you thought I was going to name ASM Annual 1). A truly great story by Denny O'Neal , Frank Miller and Klaus Janson; with the Punisher and my number one Spidey villain: Doc Ock. And the book rounds out with some of those special features as mentioned above; a fine Summer package.
X-Men Annual 7- Another great issue, with an incredibly fun tale starring the Impossible Man. Terrific art by Michael Golden, some amusing guest appearances, and one of the greatest appearances of 'Galactus' ever.
So as not to hog the conversation, I'll leave further Annual assessments up to you. But to stoke the memory, here's an appropriately King-Size assemblage of Annual covers. Enjoy!
